No, not the Mario Bava one. There are no blimps in that one. Are there?

It was interesting reading some of the material around relating to the release of Black Sunday, and of particular interest to me was the reported reaction to a test screening that Paramount did for the film back in 1977. The Wikipedia entry for this film (yes, I know, but still) claims that industry insiders believed, based on that reaction, that Black Sunday would be 'the new Jaws'.

It's probably complete bollocks but if true it's still bollocks. Black Sunday isn't really multiplex-packing entertainment in the way that Jaws was. Of course, some of the genius of Jaws is that it wasn't just a crowd pleaser…

"The American people have remained deaf to all the cries of the Palestinian nation, but if a foreign people took over the states of Virginia, Georgia, and New Jersey and forced the people of those states to leave their homes and lands, would they not feel bitter and betrayed? Therefore, understand how we feel. People of America, this situation is unbearable for us. Until you understand that, and stop helping the Israelis with arms and money, we of the Black September movement will make it unbearable for you. From now on you will share our suffering. Today's horror is nothing to what will happen unless your government acts now. We have begun the year for you with bloodshed. I shall…

Another movie where Robert Shaw has to hunt down a menace out to terrorize the public except this time the great white Bruce is much more sinister in nature - a plotting man, a lunatic Bruce Dern. Instead of open beaches on the Fourth of July it's a sold out Super Bowl stadium and Bruce wants to murder 80,000 spectators, with a blimp, no less! With a set up like that, you're almost conditioned to have slim hope that any film could deliver on such promises, but leave it to John Frankenheimer to build real climactic tension and Bruce Dern to bring real fervor to a thankless role. Robert Shaw chasing down a gunman through the streets of Miami is also a highlight. This is great macho-70s action.

Great 70's thriller, with a progressive narration (including interesting action set-pieces) until a fantastic final half an hour. Some special effects has not aged well, but the rhythm and tension are still great.

Awesome entertainment and highly charged style in this unusual espionage thriller that could have only been made by John Frankenheimer. All three lead actors give great performances: Robert Shaw, Marthe Keller, and of course the wonderful Bruce Dern. Black September group has hatched a plot to assassinate the president of the United States as well as 80,000 spectators at the super bowl by using a disgruntled and mentally unstable Vietnam veteran. While the conspiracy definitely lacks some verisimilitude the action is so well directed that the film manages to keep the audience tensely watching to see what will happen. Last half hour of the movie is extremely exciting and is a climax to be studied. There is actually not one…

Frankenheimer's adaptation of Thomas Harris's pre-Hannibal Lector novel sits somewhere between a political thriller and a disaster film. Marthe Keller plays a member of Black September (the real world terrorist group that organized and executed the attack on the Munich Olympics) who, with the help of Bruce Dern's disgruntled Vietnam vet, is planning a blimp attack on the Superbowl in Miami. It's up to Israeli intelligence agent Robert Shaw to stop them. This film kind of sits in that vague region between an enjoyably bit of entertainment and a dud. While Shaw is not completely believable as an Israeli, he's always a joy to watch. Dern is in top form. That said, there's no way this film should be 2…

Wow, this is a really underrated thriller. I might be somewhat in the minority here, but I actually liked the build up even more than the climax at the Super Bowl. It's kind of hard to imagine that, back in 1977, the idea of a terrorist attack like this happening on American soil was just a fantasy scenario for the sake of entertainment. In our post-9/11 world it takes on a whole new meaning. It's still thrilling to watch, but in a more unsettling manner.

I can also see where Christopher Nolan derived some inspiration from this film for his second and third Batman flicks, particularly in the ways it depicts suspense and paranoia through acts of terrorism. He apparently screened it during the production of The Dark Knight, and that Super Bowl set piece at the end was like a more drawn out version of the football game terrorist attack in The Dark Knight Rises.

Michael Lander (Bruce Dern) flies a blimp form which American football games are filmed for TV. He has become mentally ill and now wants to commit suicide by blowing up the blimp over the Super Bowl, thus taking out lots of good Americans too. Luckily he has a Black September operative (Marthe Keller) to help him in his dastardly deed. This was a film in which lots of people shouted at each other all the time whilst doing things that I didn't believe in., and the idea that a 1970s film would show terrorist carnage at the Super Bowl was just silly, so one has a fair idea of how the film will end up.

Another movie where Robert Shaw has to hunt down a menace out to terrorize the public except this time the great white Bruce is much more sinister in nature - a plotting man, a lunatic Bruce Dern. Instead of open beaches on the Fourth of July it's a sold out Super Bowl stadium and Bruce wants to murder 80,000 spectators, with a blimp, no less! With a set up like that, you're almost conditioned to have slim hope that any film could deliver on such promises, but leave it to John Frankenheimer to build real climactic tension and Bruce Dern to bring real fervor to a thankless role. Robert Shaw chasing down a gunman through the streets of Miami is also a highlight. This is great macho-70s action.

This is a solid thriller in the same vein as THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, and SORCERER. Sure, it's a little long, clocking in at just under 2.5 hours, but I was hooked the whole way through and never felt it drag. It has quite a few standout set-pieces, culminating in a spectacular finale that was shot at an actual Super Bowl with an actual Goodyear blimp.

Bruce Dern is his usual psychotic self in this film, but Robert Shaw is the surprising standout this time around. Not only is he fucking terrifying as an Israeli counter terrorist agent pushed to the breaking point until he has almost no moral boundaries restricting him from doing whatever it takes…